| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
| |
| Kate Temple’s Song |
| | | Mortimer Collins (b. 1827) |
| |
| |
| ONLY a touch, and nothing more: | |
| Ah! but never so touch’d before! | |
| Touch of lip, was it? Touch of hand? | |
| Either is easy to understand. | |
| Earth may be smitten with fire or frost— | 5 |
| Never the touch of true love lost. | |
| |
| Only a word, was it? Scarce a word! | |
| Musical whisper, softly heard, | |
| Syllabled nothing—just a breath— | |
| ’T will outlast life, and ’t will laugh at death. | 10 |
| Love with so little can do so much— | |
| Only a word, sweet! Only a touch! | |
| |
|
|
|
